


Lake

by rabidchild67



Series: The Satchmo Cycle [1]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Dog(s), Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-25
Updated: 2012-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:10:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabidchild67/pseuds/rabidchild67
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Satchmo finds  lake in the city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lake

>

Satchmo likes to play. He likes to roll in the grass, and run, and jump and kiss Honey and Sweetie and chase The Ball. But mostly, he likes to swim.

He learned to swim by following his Mama. There was a small lake that bordered the farm where he was born, and she used to take Satch and his littermates there to smell the smells and chase the squirrels and swim and swim and swim. He misses the air and the grass, but he likes the smells in the city. In the city, though, there are no lakes to swim in.

Today, Mr. Neal came over to visit. Satch likes Mr. Neal – he knows the exact right spot to scratch on his back that makes his leg go thump and it feels gooood. Satch sits on Mr. Neal’s feet and grunts because he is happy to see him. Mr. Neal does the good thing and rubs Satch’s ears.

Mr. Neal is talking. “So, I read a sign on the board at the gym. They’ve got dog-swimming there on Friday mornings. Did you ever want to take Satch swimming?”

Satch hears his name and “swim” and his ears perk up. “I didn’t know they did that,” says Sweetie. “Honey, you should take him.”

“I don’t think I’ll have the time, Sweetie. We’ve got weekly management calls with DC on Friday mornings now.”

“Well, I can’t do it – I can’t swim. Aww, Satch, I guess you’re outta luck, buddy.”

“I don’t mind taking him,” Mr. Neal says.

“This isn’t some ploy to get outside your radius, is it?”

“It’s the Y up the road. It’s apparently for therapy, but they make it available for members too. Come on, I’d love to take him,” says Mr. Neal.

“Well, maybe just once and see how it goes,” says Honey. “This had better not be a con.”

Mr. Neal leans over and kisses Satch on the head and smiles at Honey. “Peter, have I ever lied to you?”

\----

Friday morning, Mr. Neal comes early to take Satchmo for a walk. “What do you say, Satch, wanna go for a swim?”

Satchmo hears the word “swim” and he wags and wags. When they leave, Satch is very excited; so excited he forgets to walk slow, so Mr. Neal runs.

When they stop, they are at a big building. Satch looks back at Mr. Neal as he opens the door and sniffs. _Where is the lake?_ he would ask if he could talk. But Mr. Neal smiles and says, “Come on, we’re going to go swim.”

There are a few other dogs inside and this makes Satchmo happy. They are all excited. _Swim!_ they say. Satch follows Mr. Neal into a room where he takes off his fur and puts it in a closet. “Time to swim,” Mr. Neal says and scratches him on the chin.

They walk through another door and then Satchmo sees the lake. It is a lot smaller than his Mama’s lake and smells strange. City lakes are different. He looks at Mr. Neal dubiously. “Come on, Satch, don’t you want to swim?”

Satch whines a little. _This lake is not a proper lake_ , he would say, _it smells funny_.

“Will this change your mind?” Satchmo looks up and wags. Mr. Neal has brought The Ball. The Ball goes into the lake and so does Satchmo. Mr. Neal laughs and dives in next to him and Satch catches up to The Ball and they play. _Swim!_ He calls to the other dogs.

Satchmo likes Mr. Neal's square lake and he likes to swim and swim and swim.

\----  
Thank you for your time.


End file.
